The Daily Digest: March 05, 2025
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| Though Nate Silver left in 2023, FiveThirtyEight still offered election forecasts, a presidential approval tracker, and other tools. By Laura Hazard Owen. |
OptOut News, an aggregation app for independent news, has shut down What we’re reading
The Guardian / Margaret SullivanThe L.A/ Times’ AI “bias meter” looks like a bid to please Donald Trump →“I can’t imagine what reader would want to trot around in this silly circle like a horse on a lead line. Most of us can read a viewpoint article and decide, all by ourselves, without a helpful robot, whether we agree.”
Techdirt / Mike MasnickWhy Techdirt is now a democracy blog (whether we like it or not) →“It’s difficult to explain how much it matters that we’ve seen this movie before. (Well, technically, we’ve seen the beta version — what’s happening now is way more troubling.) When you’ve spent years watching how some tech bros break the rules in pursuit of personal and economic power at the expense of safety and user protections, all while wrapping themselves in the flag of ‘innovation,’ you get pretty good at spotting the pattern.”
404 Media / Jason KoeblerArchivists have recreated the Pre-Trump CDC website and are hosting it in Europe →“Restored CDC isn’t going to have continuous updates on this type of healthcare and disease guidance, but it has brought back all of the critical data that was purged in an easy to use, easy to navigate, and fast website.”
Nieman Reports / Jon MarcusMaine is becoming a laboratory for nonprofit news →“It also includes examples of how nonprofit media can be prone to the same pitfalls as for-profit properties absorbed by corporate chains, including budget cuts and watered-down content. Critics contend that coverage is sometimes so broadly focused that it doesn’t connect with local readers. Many express concerns about who’s paying the bills and with what motives. And there’s constant fear about the funding drying up.”
Poynter / Rick EdmondsIn a nation of news deserts, are there news rainforests, too? If so, where? →“…Rainforest growth comes from a combination of perceived gaps, especially a shrunken city newspaper, dedicated founders with access to startup financing, or funding that comes first with publication details later.”
The Present Age / Parker MolloySpicy autocomplete: The L.A. Times outsources “balance” to algorithms →“According to Matt Hamilton, vice-chair of the LA Times Guild, these AI-generated responses are ‘unvetted by editorial staff,’ he said in a statement. It appears the AI content is being published without human review, which violates the most basic rule of using AI in journalism (if you must): always keep a human in the loop.”
New York Times / Mike IsaacThe return of Digg →“A.I. will also play a larger part in making Digg more accessible to users, Mr. Rose said. For instance, he said, a community of science-fiction enthusiasts could have their discussions translated into Klingon, the language used by the ‘Star Trek’ alien race of the same name. A.I. tools can also help reduce spam, misinformation and harassment, he said.”
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